Electronic cameras, night-vision systems, radar sensors etc. that have been arranged in the front radiator grille so as to be invisible or almost invisible from outside are used in modern motor vehicles for the purpose of registering the traffic situation. These cameras consist of an optical system as well as an image-recording device taking the form of a surface-mount chip with electronics connected downstream, so that the image signals can be supplied to evaluating electronics via appropriate wiring, usually via a coaxial cable.
Known camera systems are attached to the bodywork or to a mounting support via special brackets. The optical system of the camera is adjusted in such a way that the field of view to be registered passes through the structural apertures of the radiator grille, that is to say, no shading effects or visibility restrictions occur. However, the radiator grille exhibits a certain positional tolerance with respect to the bodywork or the mounting support. In order to guarantee an unrestricted acquisition of images, in known devices an adjustability of the camera or of the camera bracket about two or three axial directions is therefore necessary. However, with mounted radiator grille and bumper the associated adjusting screws and adjusting spindles are only accessible to a limited extent, if at all. Correspondingly, the adjustment of the camera system must, for example, be undertaken prior to the mounting of the bumper, in order to enable the adjusting screws concealed by this structural member to be accessed.
In the case of systems that cannot be corrected, or cannot be corrected about all the axes of adjustment, in the partly or fully mounted state of radiator grille and bumper, correspondingly larger receiving apertures for the optical system have to be provided as tolerance compensation. However, larger apertures in the radiator grille perturb the optical system or cannot be made compatible with existing styling. Of course, apertures are also bad for the drag coefficient, and should be avoided.
Accordingly, German Patent Publication No. DE 10 2012 214 26 A1 discloses a bracket is known taking the form of a plate which is attached to the inside of the radiator grille. For this purpose a clip-on joint, and in particular a screw joint, has been provided by means of self-tapping screws as well as single-thread nuts. The bracket exhibits an aperture, by means of which the acquisition of images by the camera system is effected.
German Patent Publication No. DE 10 2011 000 683 A1 a mounting unit with a camera is known which is prefabricated and then mounted in the vehicle.
The problem with this connection is always that the appearance of the joint for such inserted structural members is not satisfactory.